East London Thames bridge plan 'a mistake'

A Tory member of the London Assembly has voiced his concern about possible plans for a new bridge in east London.

Gareth Bacon told the BBC's Sunday Politics show that a new "fixed crossing" would be a "mistake".

Mayor Boris Johnson scrapped plans for the Thames Gateway Bridge when first elected to office in 2008.

But, the results of a new consultation has found there is significant public support for the Beckton-to-Thamesmead link.

The proposal has been restructured twice in the last decade and more than £43m has already been spent on plans and preparatory work.

Public opposition

Mr Johnson originally cancelled the project after a public consultation received hundreds of objections from residents and environmentalists.

One of the principal roads is little more than a country trackGareth Bacon, Conservative London Assembly member

However, following the most recent consultation, Transport for London (TfL) is reassessing the option of a new bridge.

But Mr Bacon urged Mr Johnson to "rule out a fixed-link crossing in that area".

Mr Bacon, who is also a councillor for Bexley in south-east London, said he is not opposed to a crossing somewhere in east London, but that the roads in his borough were "simply too small" to support the traffic from a new bridge.

'Country track'

"One of the principal roads is little more than a country track," he said.

Currently, the only crossings for cars and lorries between Rotherhithe and Dartford are the Blackwall Tunnel and Woolwich Ferry.

Prior to the latest consultation, plans for a new Thames crossing in east London included the building of a new road tunnel linking Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula and a ferry at Gallions Reach linking Thamesmead and Beckton.

But the idea of a fixed bridge at Gallions Reach - to be built by 2021 - was supported by 71% of respondents to a consultation by Transport for London (TfL), compared to 52% who backed a ferry.